Amanda's path to herbalism started at an early age. Growing up in rural East Tennessee, in a family of deep-rooted Appalachian farmers, gardeners, and blue-collar workers, she enjoyed helping her grandmother in the greenhouse, learning to grow flowers and vegetables in her mother's garden, and playing on haybales and in dirt piles beside their home.

However, Amanda's childhood wasn't all butterflies and roses. She was a free lunch, TENNcare kid from a divorced home and had to navigate an abnormally high number of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences). Because of this, Amanda's health suffered exponentially. From age 6, she had to manage migraine headaches and was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease, C.R.E.S.T. Syndrome at age 12. C.R.E.S.T is an acronym representing multiple diseases that impact the mixed connective tissues throughout the body - Calcinosis, Raynaud's Phenomenon, Esophageal Dysmotility, Sclerodactyly, and Telangiectasia. There were no treatment plans for the disease at the time, except some experimental pharmaceuticals, and Amanda's mother was told she might not live to be an adult if the disease progressed at the rate it was currently affecting her. After trying some of the medications and experiencing their debilitating side effects, Amanda decided she would rather die than continue taking them. At this point, her health was seriously declining as she was experiencing dramatic weight loss and lack of development due to protein deficiency.

The only thing Amanda's family knew to do now was pray. So, Amanda's mother asked a few women who were close to the family to pray and ask that this disease would just completely vanish. The next Sunday evening at church, the entire congregation prayed over her at the altar. Miraculously, at her next doctor's appointment, all of her bloodwork was back to normal. The doctor could not explain how this was happening but encouraged them to continue whatever they were doing because it would likely save her life. Remarkably, her C.R.E.S.T. Syndrome has been in remission ever since.

The remaining issues Amanda faced at this time were concerning the lingering pathologies from the disease, the impacts of the medications she had taken, and various other health ailments, like migraines and indigestion, she suffered prior. She had surgery to remove calcinosis from her hands and elbow and was able to start exercising and playing sports again after multiple years of hiatus. Amanda was able to have a mostly normal teenage experience after all of this happened, except that she now had limited gallbladder health and was diagnosed with IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Thankfully, her doctor discouraged gallbladder removal and encouraged healthy diet and lifestyle choices which is where Amanda's path to herbalism took root. As Amanda learned more about nutrition and healthy eating, she realized how much better she could feel and what being healthy was really all about. She learned how the alignment of your mind, body, and spirit was truly the vision of health and somewhat explained the miracle she had experienced.

With this newfound realization, passion for helping others, and love of science, she decided to pursue nutrition and dietetics as a major in college. Moving away from home and entering adulthood was a bit shocking for Amanda as she never really expected to become an adult and her upbringing gave her a distorted view of the world. Eager to fit in and enjoy the gift of life, Amanda became quite the wild child during her late teens and early twenties. Fortunately, she learned to keep this in balance by pursuing work environments that encouraged a mature, responsible demeanor, including working in craft breweries which helped her develop a healthy relationship with alcohol. While working in a hospital with the dietary department near the end of her degree program, Amanda noticed the philosophy of food and nutrition did not align with her own, and she also became aware of the shocking amount of corruption in the U.S. food and agriculture industry, particularly through studying abroad. With only one year left in her studies, she decided to abandon the dietetics program and focus on chemistry to prepare for further education in some form of naturopathic medicine or holistic health - programs not available in the state of Tennessee and very few in the entire region. While finishing her bachelor's degree she worked in a food microbiology laboratory and learned a lot about food safety, fermentation, and microbiome health.

In the years that followed, Amanda got married, moved, worked in farm-to-table restaurants & craft breweries, developed a yoga and meditation practice, paid off student loans, and calculated her next move. While working in breweries, Amanda was an assistant brewer and quality control manager which focused on the various biochemical and microbiological processes required to make beer and keep it safe after production. This ultimately resulted in her designing and operating a full brewing laboratory. Not wanting to leave her multi-generational hometown, being inspired through studying abroad, and learning that food and plant medicine were much more common globally than in the U.S., Amanda pursued a master's degree in global studies and international relations. During this program and afterward, she worked in international food law and regulatory affairs with an emphasis on sustainability and various projects in restorative justice.

In the midst of this, the pandemic hit and Amanda spent 2020 growing and preserving lots of food and herbs. She also started volunteering at the Chattanooga Food Center to help the local community with organic food access and nutrition education during such a challenging time for global health. Through volunteering, she was introduced to Rising Fawn Gardens, a local medicinal herb farm and retreat center and quickly became an employee there. After her first season as a gardener, Amanda applied to enroll at the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine whose programs focus on bio-regional, Western herbalism through a Chinese Medicine lens. Upon graduation from the Holistic Herbalism program, Amanda dove deeply into the world of herbal medicine. She has since built deep relationships with herbs and integrated various protocols and lifestyle practices which have completely ended her migraines and mitigated nearly all of her IBS symptoms.

Having been miraculously "healed" through prayer and then maintaining health and vitality with nutrition, exercise, and herbs along with being deeply engrained in applied and social sciences, Amanda's polymathic background has been challenging to align with any field of health or alternative medicine. Herbalism is the only field that has been true to all of these pieces while also being accessible in her region and socioeconomic background. Amanda's first-hand experience with and philosophy of plant-based, alternative medicine finally found a home in herbalism. The field of herbalism truly recognizes the alignment of mind, body, and spirit that resonates so deeply with Amanda's idea of health and vitality and reverently holds the balance of science and spirit that she believes is missing from mainstream, conventional healthcare.